


Marriage?

by SecondSilk



Category: West Wing
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-08-27
Updated: 2007-08-27
Packaged: 2017-10-12 15:00:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/126156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SecondSilk/pseuds/SecondSilk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>C.J and Toby are arguing, but it quite what anyone else thinks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Marriage?

The West Wing was quiet. C.J and Toby were arguing. They were in her office so Josh, Donna and Carol had decamped to Toby's office until the storm blew over. Josh was reading, Sam was writing. Donna, Carol, Bonnie, Ginger, had been joined by Margaret in the hallway to keep an eye on the door to C.J's office.

Carol, Ginger and Bonnie were keeping their distance. Donna and Margaret, against the others' advice, were slowly inching closer. The argument had been quiet for a few minutes now, and they were hoping a peaceful resolution had been reached.

"What do you think they talking about now?" Margaret asked, still hushed.

"Josh didn't say what the argument began with," Donna said. "I can't think what it could be. Do you think it's over, that they're over it?"

"Don't bet on it," Carol called to them. "C.J's unlikely to give into any concession. Sometimes, yes. But the way she was with Toby this morning, I think he'd done something bad."

"Toby doesn't apologise to anyone but C.J," Ginger said. "And only then when whatever it was backfired."

"India and Pakistan, the first time," Bonnie said.

"And only then because he knew he would be forgiven," Ginger added.

Donna was going to remind them that it was quiet, now. Margaret was almost ready to suggest that they had resolved their sexual tension as well as the argument.

But then C.J shouted, loud enough that they could hear it clearly.

"No! You can't…"

C.J checked her voice. But she stood taller and stepped closer to Toby.

"Toby, you can't do that. You have no right even to suggest such a thing."

"I can suggest whatever I want, C.J!" Toby said, voice low. He was too angry to shout. "It is not an unreasonable question, you have blown it out of all proportion."

"I have not, Toby. You have never had any say in any of my relationships; you never took a part at all! Only a political concern could ever worry you, and now you have the nerve to suggest that you can use me in this way! You're disgusting."

She turned her back on him. Toby reached and caught her arm, gripping it hard.

"You dare suppose that I didn't care. C.J, I… I would have died with you that day! I thought you liked him. You do like him! You've lectured all of us on the public face of this administration."

"Who I date is not an issue in itself, Toby!"

"I don't care who you date, C.J. Unless… unless…. It wasn't about that anyway. Who you go to Ball with is going to be noticed. It could be a big thing. We can make it a big thing. It can be made a big thing. Why shouldn't we use that?"

C.J pulled away from Toby angrily. She would have hit him but he stepped back quickly. Toby stepped back from her condemnation.

"I don't mean making anything up, C.J," he said, trying to back peddle slightly.

"You were talking about worse."

"C.J!"

C.J advanced slowly and poked Toby in the chest.

"You were talking about suggesting, however tentatively, me marrying some guy, whoever, so that we could claw back some public goodwill. I'm not some kind of doll you can hand out or use as a reward for good behaviour. God, Toby, were not as desperate as that!

"I'd as soon marry you," she laughed, "that would be a fitting punishment I think; it was your idea."

Toby was not surprised by C.J's change of mood. She knew that he knew that she'd won the argument. He couldn't let the last part pass without comment.

"You couldn't make my life worse than you already make it."

C.J snorted in disbelief. She took a step back to examine him.

"I could make you life worse, I'm sure."

"If you really want to try," Toby said, slowly, "let's do it."

"And what about a proper proposal, Toby, with a ring?"

Toby rolled his eyes. "I know how to do that," he said.

C.J nodded, satisfied that she had won. Toby shrugged, still convinced that nothing was going to change. A beat later than realised exactly what they'd agreed to. Toby was shocked by C.J's hearty laughter.

"I'm holding you to the agreement, Toby," she said. "If you really think I can't make your life worse."

"And I have to marry you to prove that? All right, then."

"What do you think they're going to say?" C.J asked. She grinned in that way she did when she wanted to someone to be uncomfortable.

"Do we tell them the truth?" Toby asked her.

C.J considered it a moment then shook her head.

"They might be right," C.J said, "And it'll be worse if they knew we were wrong."

Toby smiled slowly at her admission. But he wisely said nothing.

"We do have to tell Leo, though," Toby said.

C.J agreed with that. She lead Toby out via Josh's office so they could avoid the communications bullpen.

It was well they did. Donna, Carol, Bonnie, Ginger and Margaret were still stationed in the corridor, keeping an eye on C.J's office. Sam and Josh ventured out of Sam's office join them.

"Are we betting on the outcome or the subject of the argument?" Sam asked.

"The outcome," Donna told him.

"I think they've finally admitted their attraction to each other," Margaret said.

Josh and Sam turned to stare at her with identical, and amusing, expressions of shock.

"That's—That's," Josh spluttered. "But Toby's so—"

"This was not the argument for it," Donna said. "It was pretty forceful. I don't see how it could get from the fight to something like that. They'll get together during some sort of personal crisis only the other understands."

Margaret nodded. "But if they were arguing over personal things," she argued. "Then it's more likely that one of them will slip up. From C.J's yell, it was personal. I'm betting Toby'll slip."

"No way," Sam said, "He is always really careful. You can never really know what he's feeling."

"He's always less sure around C.J, though," Josh said, mostly thinking out loud. "I think it would be Toby. C.J's got all the press experience; she never forgets where she's at in an argument."

"Except when she's arguing with Toby," Sam said.

"Okay, pool," Donna said, waving the others closer.

"Margaret and Josh say Toby slips up and admits his feeling. Sam says C.J slips. I say that nothing happens—maybe a change in dynamic, nothing more. $20 pool, what do you say?"

Bonnie, Ginger and Carol, with instinct developed of years of working together, held a silent conversation that lasted several seconds.

"How do you split 140 three ways?" Ginger asked. "We're betting on something definitely weirder."

"What's eirder than C.J and Toby getting together in the first?" Josh asked, his voice going kind of squeaky.

"We're not sure exactly what," Carol said, "but we know we're right."

"Are you up for thirty?" Bonnie asked.

The others agreed, all doubting how strange it could get.

C.J and Toby walked straight into Leo's office via Margaret's empty desk. Toby led, holding C.J's hand.

Leo looked up. He noticed their entwined hands and smiled briefly, relieved that the argument was done. If he'd known that Toby's relationship with C.J included a unique ability to put her off form, well, he probably would have arranged to hire her anyway.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Toby and I getting married."

Leo blinked. He paused. He thought about the ways in which he might have misheard C.J. Then he gave up.

"Why?" was the only thing he could think to ask.

"I don't think C.J could possibly make my life worse than she does already, but she would like to prove me wrong," Toby said, addressing the curtains behind Leo's desk.

C.J was examining Leo's reaction. It made it difficult for him to think of anything else to say. But he found he could smile.

"You have to tell the President."

C.J nodded. Toby tried to tug her away from the door to the Oval Office, but Leo waved them through, feigning irritation.

Toby tried to drop C.J's hand before they walked into the Oval Office, but C.J refused to let go. The President was reading at his desk and looked up as they entered, curious that they had come through Leo's door.

"I thought you were arguing," he said.

Toby shuffled his feet and looked at the carpet.

C.J took a deep breath before she answered. "We were. That's not why we're here."

The President waited, eyebrows raised. "Toby and I are getting married, sir."

The President looked from C.J back to Toby, who met his eye resolutely.

"Congratulations," the President said, in a carefully non-committal voice. He would get more of the story from Leo later.

"Thank you, sir," C.J said. Toby just nodded sharply.

"Well, then, you can go and spread the news, if you'd like. Or not."

"Thank you, sir," they both murmured.

Toby almost pulled C.J out of the Oval Office. He shook her hand out of his as they got to the outer office. C.J caught up with him in the hall and grabbed his arm to make him face her.

"You needn't be so unenthusiastic," she said sharply.

Toby automatically looked around to see who was there. The place was relatively empty, but he still dragged C.J further away before answering.

"I'm very enthusiastic," he said. "I just don't want people to know."

C.J sighed. That was typical Toby, she knew. "Okay, then," she said. "But they'll figure it out once you get me a ring."  
Toby scowled. And somewhere, hidden beneath his beard, was a smile.

They walked around the building to return to the Communications Bullpen from the other side. They ended up behind the others, who were still huddled together in the corridor watching C.J's door.

"They've been in there a while now," Sam said.

"Do we get to knock the door down?" Josh asked.

He cracked his knuckles in preparation and Donna punched him.

"If they've killed each other, does that count for us?" Ginger asked.

"We'll you'd all be out of a job," Josh said. "I suppose it's the least we can do."

"We're not dead," Toby said.

The entire group jumped about a foot and spun the face them. Josh staggered and grabbed onto Sam for support, almost pulling him over, too. Carol had managed to leap free of the others and now looked ready to bolt.

"If you ever try to break my door, Josh, I'll drive the splinters into you," C.J told him calmly. "Now please excuse me, I have work to do."

She pushed through the group back to her office. Josh and Donna followed back to their own desks and Margaret hastened back to the Leo. Bonnie, Ginger and Sam glanced at each other, unable to escape Toby's reaction. Toby ignored them, however. He disappeared back into his office to remember something.

Over the rest of the afternoon C.J rang Toby twice and sent his three emails reminding him about the ring. And she sent a rather confused Carol to ask as well. Toby had long ago learnt that it was easier to play along with C.J. Eventually she gave up teasing and invited to her place for dinner.

Leo sent them home at 7 pm, reserving the right to keep them in as long as he needed to, come the election campaign. No one argued that he'd do that anyway.

"C.J, Toby, I don't want to see you before 8 o'clock tomorrow," Leo called to their retreating backs.

"Leo!" C.J protested.

Leo was amused to see that Toby blushed, but C.J didn't.

"Have a good night," he said, trying hard not to grin. Josh demanded to know why he didn't get a late morning too.

"Well, Josh," C.J said, with a coy smile that made most people nervous, "You have a much more important job than me or Toby, and there's no way even you could get it done in two hours less than it already takes you."

Josh tried to work out how much of that was a compliment, but gave up when Sam started to laugh at him. He waved to C.J and Toby and walked off with Sam. Toby drove directly behind C.J the whole way back to her apartment.

C.J opened the door and led the way into her living room. Toby followed, lost in thought.

"C.J," he said, slowly.

"Yeah, Toby."

"You said something about being wrong?"

"What of it?"

"I remembered something else you said once."

C.J looked at him, a smile curling her mouth slightly. "What was that, Toby?"

"You said that you would need a better excuse for getting married next time."

C.J sat down slowly on her sofa.

"Yeah, I did say that, didn't I?"

Toby sat down next to her and took both her hands in his. She turned to face him.

"I really would have died with you that day."

"I know," C.J smiled at him. It was a warm teasing smile, and it lifted Toby out of his pensive thoughts.

"So you were wrong," he said.

"So were you," C.J told him.

Toby didn't answer, but he grinned. He pulled C.J close and kissed her. She kissed him back and reached out to draw him closer.

She pulled away after a long moment.

"Don't go this time," she whispered.

"I won't."

"And I will make your life worse."

"I don't doubt it," he said. And he kissed her again. It was a while before she thought to reply.


End file.
